


We paint the town blue

by cozypancakes



Category: Community (TV)
Genre: M/M, Politics, Romance, humanbeingsforbiden, i'm writing to work through my election anxiety, politic anxiety heavy on ch 1 and beginning of ch 2, post Election Night, quarantine fic, some fluff throughout the chapters
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-05
Updated: 2020-11-14
Packaged: 2021-03-09 02:22:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,892
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27397153
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cozypancakes/pseuds/cozypancakes
Summary: Jeff and Craig deal with anxiety and their own feelings for each other as they await the results of the 2020 election.Updated title as this is now a multi chapter fic!
Relationships: Dean Craig Pelton/Jeff Winger
Comments: 23
Kudos: 36





	1. Darling, I'm Scared

**Author's Note:**

> Now that I've opened the gates of the quarantine scenario and the "using fictional characters to work through my election anxiety" scenario, I'm feeling the creativity flowing.

_ “It is still too close to call in five different states. We may not be able to call states till Friday, if then..” _

Jeff leaned back on his couch. He clicked the TV off. It’d been the same thing all day. Jeff’s anxiety was too high right now. And his sponsor had told him to walk away from the results whenever the itch for a drink, or ten, began to distract him. 

He grabbed his phone and opened up Instagram. Not to check on the results. He refreshed one specific profile, hoping to see something. A new post or at least a story update. 

Nothing.

Jeff let out a sigh. He drummed his fingers on his thigh. Craig had been active on social media earlier on the day. He’d been posting all morning as results came in for smaller races. And there were things to be happy about. Colorado had flipped a Senate seat; Jeff had heard Craig celebrate that victory when the race was called last night. There were various LGBTQ+ people elected to office including the first openly gay black man elected to the House and the first transgender state legislator in Vermont. But he’d gone silent a few hours ago. 

It was no big deal. People were taking social media breaks all the time. But if that’s what Craig was doing, it was probably because he was feeling stressed out or upset. Jeff should check up on him. No, that would be too weird. But he was right next door. He could be hurt? Highly unlikely but not impossible. 

Jeff got off the couch and started pacing his living room. He should go over there and knock on his door and just...ask for some sugar. Yeah, that would work. Without thinking about it more, Jeff grabbed his mask and walked out of his apartment. He knocked on Craig’s door and stepped back to wait for an answer. 

It took longer than usual for Craig to respond. So long in fact that Jeff had stepped up to the door to knock again when it finally opened. 

“Jeffrey!” Craig said, surprised. 

Jeff felt himself smiling at the stupid dalmatian patterned mask. He’d been doing that a lot more. Smiling. No one could see him behind his mask anyway. “Hey,” Jeff said. He took a good look at Craig. He was in slippers and decorative pajamas with snowflakes and candy canes. “Isn’t it a bit early for that?” Jeff asked. 

Craig looked down at his clothes. When he looked back up at Jeff, his ears were burning red. “It’s never too early for the holiday spirit. Besides, turkey’s scare me a bit,” Craig said. 

Jeff chuckled at the admission. “Fair enough.” 

They stood there watching each other for a while. Craig had bags under his eyes. Jeff wondered how many hours of sleep Craig had gotten in the last 24 hours. Jeff was running low on sleep and he’d barely admit that he cared about the results. Craig cared. Craig had poured hours into the election cycle phone banking for different candidates and propositions. Jeff could see the exhaustion clinging to Craig. Jeff wanted to reach out and-

“Did you need something, Jeffrey?”

“What?” 

Craig tilted his head. “You knocked on my door…” Craig gestured confusedly to the door, in case Jeff needed a reminder. 

“Oh, right,” Jeff said. Sugar, his excuse was going to be asking for sugar. “I- ugh...I wanted to check up on you.” Wait, what? 

Craig seemed as surprised as Jeff felt. “Oh,” Craig said. “That’s...that’s really sweet of-” Craig choked up. Tears were suddenly streaming down Craig’s face and his whole body curled in on himself. 

“Wow, hey, Craig,” Jeff exclaimed. 

Forgetting all social distancing protocols, Jeff rushed over to Craig and wrapped his arms around him. Craig clung to Jeff’s shirt as he continued to cry. “I’m sorry. I’m s-s-sorry. It’s just a lot,” Craig mumbled in between sobs. 

“Stop talking,” Jeff ordered. He ran his hand up and down Craig’s back. He held Craig as he cried his eyes out. Jeff realized that this was the closest he’d been to another person in...well, some number of months. Craig’s body was warm and trembling against his, though his grip was iron strong. 

It took a few minutes, but eventually Craig quieted down. The shaking stopped too. Jeff was almost lamenting the fact that he’d have to pull away soon when Craig let out a loud squeal. Jeff startled and took a step back. Craig mirrored his movements, taking several steps back into his apartment. 

“Jeffrey!” Craig scolded. “Six feet!” 

“Seriously!” Jeff complained. “We’ve been over this, Craig. Neither of us leave our apartment other than for groceries. I’m fine being close to you.”

“Well, I’m not. I’d never forgive myself if I got you sick, Jeffrey,” Craig said. 

Jeff let out a frustrated sigh and leaned against the door frame. “Fine,” Jeff said. “Are you gonna tell me what’s wrong?” Craig gave him a look. “I mean, other than everything. You seemed fine this morning. Or, better at least.” 

Craig’s shoulders slumped. “I was. Well, I was trying to be fine,” Craig admitted. “I was trying to keep optimistic. Obviously we wouldn’t know the results last night. I was expecting that. So I was just trying to celebrate all the little wins, you know? Stay positive. And then…” Craig cut off as he looked at a random spot next to Jeff. 

“Yeah?” Jeff prodded lightly. 

“Then I...I saw the map. And…” Craig took in a deep, pained breath again. Jeff was worried he’d start crying again. Craig took a few more deep breaths, obviously fighting back tears. “It’s just...67 million people, probably more...how...how do they…” This time there was no stopping the tears. “I just don’t understand! He’s horrible! He’s a horrible person and a horrible leader and businessman and he doesn’t care about anyone.” Craig started pacing from his couch to his kitchen. Jeff watched on, hands clenched, stopping himself from moving towards Craig. “He’s killed people! And he’s just full of hate and bigotry and lies! Yet 67 million people! 49% of the country! How? Why? I just don’t...I….I don’t…” Craig was too choked up to continue. He slid down the far wall and pulled his knees up to his chest. 

Slowly, Jeff walked over to the same wall and slid down to the floor, keeping his distance from Craig. He sat there as Craig tried to regain himself again. Jeff was itching to bring his arms around Craig and give him any comfort. 

“Biden still has a shot,” Jeff said, trying to ease Craig’s worries. 

Craig nodded as he wiped his tears again. “I know,” Craig said. “But it doesn’t take away the fact that so many people want that... _ cheeto _ for president.” 

Jeff nodded. He knew how Craig felt. He’d been glaring at his TV for the majority of the day. The sea of red just...staring back at him. Jeff looked back at Craig. He was hugging his knees to his chest, staring off to nothing. 

“You won the senate seat though,” Jeff said. 

Craig nodded slightly. “Yeah, I guess,” he agreed. “That’s something.”

“It is,” Jeff insisted. “I know you helped out in that campaign.”

Craig scoffed. “A few hours of phone banking here and there,” Craig waved off. 

“No, don’t do that,” Jeff said, facing Craig. “You participated. You did more than just vote. You believed in something and you took action. That’s no small thing. At least not for America. You did something, Craig. That’s something to be proud of.”

“I know, but we won’t even win the Senate so-”

“Stop. You won’t solve everything in one election. You helped take a step in the right direction. Be proud of that. Tomorrow or next week we all have to try to take the next step.” Craig’s eyes were shining with more unshed tears but Jeff was almost certain that he was smiling this time. “Don’t give up hope yet. You’re one of the most optimistic people I know and we need you out in the world. Without you...well, without you people like me sit back and don’t vote at all.” 

“You would’ve voted,” Craig argued. 

“Maybe,” Jeff shrugged. “Maybe not. But you convinced me to do it. And then I convinced the group to vote. That’s...seven more votes out there. All because of you. And that’s just us. Who knows how many voters you convinced on the phone.” 

“Eight yes’s,” Craig said. “I kept track.” 

“See! That’s 15 people! That’s amazing, Craig. You’re amazing,” Jeff said. Earnestly. Maybe a bit too earnestly as Craig was definitely blushing under that mask. 

“Thank you, Jeffrey,” Craig whispered. He turned away from Jeff then, giving Jeff a clear view of his pink ears and neck. 

“I should be thanking you. If it wasn’t for you, I would’ve broken my sobriety on Day 2 of quarantine.”

“Shush, that’s all you, Jeffrey,” Craig said. 

“You’ve helped,” Jeff repeated. Jeff kept watching Craig’s profile. If it wasn’t for this stupid pandemic, they’d be much closer at that moment. Jeff would have his arm around Craig’s shoulders, hugging Craig to his chest. In fact, they would be comically close. So close that if Craig would have looked up, they would have been shocked by how close they were. Then a few seconds later, they would have slowly leaned in towards each other until - “I want to kiss you.” 

Craig physically startled and stared at Jeff with wide eyes. “I-you-pardon?” 

Jeff smirked under his mask. He looked away from Craig. “I said I want to kiss you. But, you know, you’re adamant about the six feet thing. Even though we’ve both been super cautious and have been working remotely.” 

He couldn’t help himself. He looked back at Craig with his most sexy, bedroom eyes. Jeff swore he heard Craig swallow. Jeff was starting to think that Craig wasn’t going to respond at all. He was beginning to feel self-conscious. Craig had become his closest friend over the years. There were the occasional moments between them that he would qualify as flirting. And there were definitely lingering looks on both sides. Jeff had assumed this meant that Craig still was attracted to him if not holding a mild crush for him. But Jeff could have read that situation all wrong. Now things would be incredibly awkward between them and-

“Would you still want to kiss me in four days?” 

“Four days?” Jeff asked. 

“I went grocery shopping ten days ago. Four more days and I would’ve done the official two week quarantine,” Craig explained. 

Jeff blinked a few times. He was having trouble wrapping his mind around the possibility of this actually going in his favor. “Didn’t some pretty important people only isolate for ten days? After confirmed cases of the virus?” 

“Really? That’s the person you want to use as an example,” Craig deadpanned. 

“Doesn’t take away the fact that it’s been ten possible days since an exposure and you’ve shown no symptoms and-”

“Jeffrey…”

“Fine,” Jeff conceded. “Four more days.” Jeff got off the floor and headed towards the door. “Though, if you come to your senses and realize ten days is fine, you know where to find me.” 

“I do,” Craig said, standing up. 

“In the meantime,” Jeff began. If Craig was going to deny him a kiss, then Jeff was going to make these next four days torture for Craig. “I will be thinking about all the things I would do to you.” He slowly dragged his eyes down Craig’s body. He looked back up at Craig’s face and was satisfied to see Craig redder than ever. 

“See you in four days,” Jeff called back as he walked into his apartment. 


	2. You know I adore you

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jeff attempts to seduce Craig once more by being shirtless in bed during a video call. Instead, they have a heart to heart about their feelings for one another.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, so this is happening. Lol, I am committing. It was supposed to be a quick one chapter update to wrap things up but then this scene ended up being longer than I expected so I said screw it, let's do a whole chapter. Hope you enjoy, some politcal stuff in the beginning but then it's just these two idiots and their feelings.

Jeff was ‘doom scrolling.’ That’s what it was called right? Reading a bunch of twitter posts that pissed him off and made him lose faith in humanity. Jeff had learned years ago that it was hardly fun to argue with the alt-right. They didn’t care that their arguments and claims were riddled with lies and hypocrisy. They’d still support the stupid cheeto no matter what. 

It wasn’t productive and definitely not helpful. But sometimes Jeff would do it anyway. He wasn’t 100% sure why. Maybe it was to have proof that his outrage and despair were justified. Maybe it was to see other people calling the idiots idiots; he’d get a sense that he wasn’t alone in basic human decency. Maybe he just liked to suffer.

Either way, Jeff was doom scrolling and unlikely to stop anytime soon. He’d occasionally come across a funny meme about Nevada taking their sweet time counting votes or about the news anchors who hadn’t slept in 72 hours. Jeff would usually send them Craig’s way or to the group chat. 

He shifted in his bed, switching his phone to the other hand. The news was playing on his TV, volume on low. He should get out of bed to make dinner at some point but for now he stayed on his phone. 

As he kept scrolling, he came across an image of the US. He was uncomfortably familiar with the red and blue states at this point. Overlaid over the country was the phrase “Land doesn’t vote”. Jeff raised an eyebrow. Well, they weren’t wrong, but he wasn’t seeing their point. Jeff clicked on the screen to expand the full image. Below the regular map was a different version with different sized blue and red circles all over and a lot of white space. The blue circles dominated most of the map with small red circles here and there. This map had the phrase “People do.” 

Oh, that made more sense. It seemed like a fairly obvious point when he thought about it. Obviously a lot of the middle states were less densely populated. It just took seeing it in an image to really get it in his head. Jeff copied the link to the tweet and sent it off to Craig. This would make him feel better about things, right? 

Jeff watched his screen closely, waiting for the “delivered’ text to turn to ‘seen’. He became impatient quickly. Craig always responded instantly to his messages. He counted to thirty in his head, finger tapping against the side of his screen. 

When he hit the number 26, Jeff FaceTimed him. As he waited for Craig to pick up, Jeff’s video turned on. He’d forgotten he was shirtless in bed. His hair was even more ruffled up than usual. He was almost about to get up and grab a shirt when Jeff realized he could use this to his advantage. 

He reached out his hand as far out as it would go and pushed to blanket off him so his entire chest was exposed. Craig picked up a second later.

The choking/squealing noise Craig let out when he saw Jeff was the highlight of his day. 

“Jeffrey!” Craig scolded him. “What are you doing?” 

“I woke up from a nap,” Jeff said innocently. Or as innocently as he could ever say anything with his shit eating grin in place. Without the mask, Jeff could clearly see Craig’s adorable blush covering his whole face and neck. Though Craig not looking at his phone just would not do. “Come on, Craig. You said no touching, but there’s no rules against looking.” 

“I-that’s-you-” Craig groaned, unable to formulate a sentence. 

Jeff watched as Craig closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. Jeff started to feel guilt settle in his stomach. He’d only meant to tease Craig and get an embarrassed reaction from him. Which may not have been the nicest of intentions to begin with but now it seemed like he was actually causing Craig discomfort. Jeff opened his mouth to say he’d go put on a shirt but then Craig spoke. 

“What is this?” Craig asked. His eyes were still closed and his mouth was set in a firm line. 

“What’s what?” Jeff asked, bringing the phone closer to his face. 

Craig let out an annoyed sigh. He blinked a few times at the new angle but continued on with his questioning. “The whole ‘I want to kiss you’ and the-” Craig gestured towards his phone- “nakedness.” 

“I’m not naked,” Jeff grumbled, despite himself. “I still have underwear on.” 

“Jeffrey!”

“Okay, okay,” Jeff said. He sat up in his bed. “I...I think I want to date you.” 

Craig made another little noise, though he managed to muffle it this time. “Date? As in…”

“As in date,” Jeff said. “I mean, I don’t know what people do nowadays. You can’t really date like before. No dinner and a movie. Or anything else.”

“I hear most people do that stuff over video calls now,” Craig said. 

Jeff raised an eyebrow. “As in video call while they’re watching the same movie on TV or having their own dinners?”

“Yeah.”

“Don’t we do that like once a week already? Does that mean we’re already dating?” Jeff asked with a smirk. 

“No! We are not dating!” 

“Jeez, is the idea so appalling?” 

“It’s...no, that’s not-” Craig cut off again. He looked away from his phone. His cheeks were still flushed. Jeff wondered if Craig was angry or flustered. He had his classic pout. Craig looked back at the video and Jeff unconsciously held his breath. “Jeffrey, I think I’m in love with you and I think I have been for a really long time now. So you throwing things around like...dating and kissing, it’s not a little thing for me.” Jeff saw the tears welling up in Craig’s eyes and felt his stomach drop. Craig looked at his phone and chuckled. “I just ruined the whole thing by saying the L word before it even started, didn’t I?” 

“No-”

“Jeffrey, you look like a deer caught in headlights. It’s okay. I know you have a fear of commitment and-”

“You haven’t ruined anything,” Jeff cut in. “If anything, I’m the one who ruined this. I shouldn’t have been so...carefree about all this. I should have taken it seriously.” 

Craig took in a sharp breath. “So, you’re not scared off?”

“No,” Jeff said. “I mean, no offense, but it’s not exactly a surprise to hear you say you love me.” 

Craig rolled his eyes. “You are the most narcissistic man alive.” 

“Yet you love me,” Jeff teased. Jeff liked the way it rolled off his tongue. It felt good to say and even better to hear. Who the hell was he? 

Craig’s face mirrored Jeff’s internal surprise. “I-I do,” Craig said. 

“So the most reasonable thing to do would be to date,” Jeff said. 

Craig’s face suddenly turned sad. “You don’t want to date me, Jeffrey. You’re just lonely.”

“Um, come again?” Jeff said. 

“We’ve been in quarantine how long now? 8 months? More? You’re lonely and I happen to be the most convenient person to date right now? You don’t want  _ me _ .”

“That’s ridiculous,” Jeff shot back.

“Is not!”

“By that logic, I’d date anyone who was my neighbor, right?” 

“Yes, that is exactly what I am saying,” Craig replied. 

“Well then what if Chang was my neighbor. Would I suddenly want to kiss him senseless whenever he did something adorable?” 

“I-I-well-”

“Or what if Pierce had been my neighbor? Do you think I’d go out there and try to seduce him?” Craig opened and closed his mouth various times. Jeff didn’t give him the chance to finish. “Or Garrett? Or Ian?”

“I have a penis!” Craig blurted out. 

That was random. “Yes, I know this Craig. Hell, I’ve felt and or seen it on a handful of occasions. We’ve known each other for years and you occasionally wear very tight clothing-”

“I mean that I have a penis and you keep talking about wanting to kiss me but as far as I’ve ever seen, you’ve never brought other penis-having people home and-”

“Oh, right, that,” Jeff said.

“Yes, that,” Craig repeated. 

“I guess I should mention I’m bi.” 

Again, Craig stared at the phone in shock. Jeff shifted his position slightly. He hadn’t said those words to anyone other than his therapist and Abed. He was nervous for Craig’s reaction. His therapist had thanked him for sharing that, though it felt weird considering they’d been talking about his sexuality for months by then. Abed had given his signature “Cool. Cool, cool, cool.” And asked if anyone else from the study group knew. Actually, he’d asked if he’d told Craig first. Uh...had Abed realized his crush on Craig before Jeff had? He’d have to give Abed a call later. 

“Oh,” Craig finally said. “I-” he stopped to clear his throat for a second. “Thank you for sharing that with me, Jeffrey.”

“No one other than Abed knows,” Jeff said. 

“Right, your secret is safe with me,” Craig promised. 

“What about my heart?” Jeff asked. And ugh, what? “Ew, no. That was horrible. Forget I said that.”

Craig chuckled. “I really don’t think I can,” Craig said. He smiled at Jeff. “Who would have known that Jeffrey Winger was such a romantic?”

“I can be romantic,” Jeff said. “One of the many things you’ll find out about me if you ever agree to date me.” 

Craig leaned over his counter and rested his chin in his hand. “Mmmmm, I’ll have to think about it and get back to you.” 

Jeff’s charming smile fell. “Seriously?” 

“Bye, Jeffrey!”

“Craig-”

But Craig had already hung up on him. Seriously? Jeff had never expected Craig to play hard to get, let alone for this long. His phone vibrated with a new message. 

_ Craig: Love your bedsheets btw ;) _

Oh, so that’s how things were gonna be. Well two could play that game. 

Jeff layed back down on his bed and took a quick selfie. He sent it off to Craig with a quick message. 

_ You should come feel them. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Step 1: Complete. We voted the cheeto out of the White House! Let this joy and relief fuel your future activism. It can be done. Things are not hopeless. Change can happen!


	3. I counted days

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jeff finds out who Steve Kornacki is and that a certain someone next door may have a crush on the man.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Is this chapter self indulgent af??? Yes!! You can't convince me Craig would not be all #kornackithirst!! And if you don't know who he is, look it up because it is a good laugh to see America thirst over this nerdy math analyst who had not slept in days. And yes, I am one of those people, hence the self indulgent chapter.

Jeff had been consistently going to therapy for three years now. That’s why he could recognize this irrational emotion creeping up on him at that moment. He could recognize it but he still wasn’t advanced enough to stop it.

He was on twitter again. Let’s be honest, he was on twitter during most of his free time these last three days. But he wasn’t doom scrolling this time. No, this time he was watching everyone’s odd obsession with some math dork named Steve Kornacki. 

Jeff had had his TV set to CNN, so he had no idea who this Steve person even was when he saw a post about him on his feed. It was a meme from the Daily Show, the one with elmo sticking his head in a pile of cocaine. Curious, Jeff had decided to look up whoever this Steve Kornacki guy was. It wasn’t too hard to find out. Steve Kornacki was a political analyst for MSNBC and people were fucking drooling over him. 

He’d been ready to roll his eyes at the sudden obsession. They guy was kinda cute for a nerd, sure. But beyond that, Jeff wasn’t seeing the appeal. He went back to his feed, curiosity sated. 

If it hadn’t been for that Daily Show tweet and Jeff finding out who this Steve Kornacki was, Jeff would have probably glossed over the next tweet he saw about the math nerd. But he did see the tweet and he did know who Steve Kornacki was, so he actually read the whole tweet about Steve Kornacki being a national treasure. And since his eyes were on that tweet for more than a second, he noticed why it had shown up on his feed. 

One Craig Pelton had retweeted it. 

Jeff had sat up on his couch and stared at his phone. Alright, so Craig also knew who Steve Kornacki was. Big deal, right? It didn’t mean anything. 

He recognized the feeling taking over him then. It was jealousy. Irrational jealousy at the thought that Craig was admiring this man. If he’d focused more on his jealousy in therapy, Jeff may have had better coping mechanisms to deal with his jealousy. Instead, Jeff went to Craig’s profile and started going through all his tweets.

He’d been right. That was definitely not the only tweet about Steve Kornacki on there. Jeff was even more on edge when the tweets were more and more thirsty. Honestly, what were people seeing in this man? He’d been wearing the same clothes for three days! How was that getting people turned on? The last straw was seeing Craig actually use the term “KorSnacki”. 

He was FaceTiming Craig when it hit him that Jeff was being more than a little ridiculous. He was about to cancel the call when Craig picked up. Jeff raised one eyebrow at Craig’s attire. He was in a fluffy, blue bathrobe with a matching hairband. His face was covered in a black facemask. 

“Is that the facemask I got you for your birthday?” Jeff asked. 

“Why yes, it is,” Craig said with a smile. “I figured I could do some skincare while I sit here waiting for more results.” 

Jeff’s mouth formed a scowl. “What are you watching?” Jeff asked. Though he was sure he knew the answer. 

“The news, like always,” Craig replied. 

Jeff rolled his eyes. “What channel?” 

“Oh, MSNBC,” Craig said. 

“Uh.”

“What? Do you not like MSNBC?” Craig asked. “I know you’ve been watching CNN.”

“They’re alright, I guess,” Jeff answered. “Why do you watch it?” 

“Well, I mainly watch it because they have this great political analyst called Steve Kornacki-”

“Aha!” Jeff yelled. He’d momentarily forgotten that he’d decided his jealousy was stupid. 

Craig jumped in his seat. “What ‘aha’?” 

“Having fun watching your new boyfriend?” Jeff asked. He might as well lean into it now. 

“Who? Steve?” Craig asked, perplexed. 

“Yeah, Steve Kornacki,” Jeff over-enunciated. “Or, as you like to call him, KorSnacki,” 

Jeff watched Craig’s face. For what he wasn’t entirely sure. But he didn’t want to miss any twitch that would reveal the truth. He was not expecting Craig to burst out laughing. Craig went out of shot as he doubled over to continue laughing. Jeff felt his ears begin to burn. 

“What? What’s so funny? I saw the tweets,” Jeff said. 

Craig’s face reappeared in the camera as he sat up again. “Are you jealous?” Craig asked with mirth. 

Jeff’s ear burned hotter. “Of that...nerd? Of course not,” Jeff said. 

Craig laughed some more. “Jeffrey, you’re adorable.” 

“Shut up,” Jeff said, fully committing to the stupidity of the moment.

“Wow, I haven’t laughed that hard all week. Thank you, Jeffrey. I needed that,” Craig said. 

“Glad to be of service,” Jeff grumbled. 

Craig smiled at him. “Come on, Jeffrey. Even you must know you’re being a bit silly right now.” 

“You’re the one thirsting over a man who hasn’t changed his shirt in days.”

“Jeffrey, Twitter is having an odd and collective obsession over this guy because we’ve all been hanging on his every word for three days straight. It’s funny and fun and a way for us to relieve stress.”

“Have you been-” Jeff was horrified to think that Craig had been “relieving stress” thinking of that nerd.

“Okay! Poor choice of words!” Craig interrupted. “I have some boundaries!”

Jeff sat back on his couch and scowled at his phone. “Ridiculous,” Jeff mumbled. “You have a perfectly willing person right next door and instead you decide to obsess over this nerd who probably doesn’t even lift.”

Craig tried and failed to keep in another laughing fit. “I can’t say I’ve never seen this side of you Jeffrey, but right now you’re just plain adorable.” 

“I’m hot, thank you very much,” Jeff argued. 

“Yes, you most certainly are,” Craig stated. 

Jeff looked at Craig, face relaxing a bit. “And you love me,” Jeff added. 

Craig’s cheeks turned a light shade of pink. “I do.”

“Yet for some reason refuse to date me,” Jeff said. 

“I’m not refusing to date you, Jeffrey. I’m following health guidelines-”

“That mainly pertain to when you’ve had a direct contact exposure to someone with COVID or have traveled. Not when you’ve gone grocery shopping and followed all safety guidelines. I looked it up.”

Craig was quiet for a moment. “Even so-”

“Why won’t you let me kiss you? Do you honestly think 24 hours is going to make a difference? If we were roommates, it would be impossible for either of us to maintain our distance for fourteen days each time one of us left the apartment. And we might as well be since we live alone not two feet from each other so-”

“Well maybe I’m scared!” Craig shouted. 

“What?” Jeff asked, surprised. Craig looked down from his phone. Jeff imagined he was picking at his robe in nervousness. “You’re scared? Of the virus? Of me?”

“I-” Craig started and then stopped. He took a deep breath and then looked back at the camera. “What if you don’t like it?”

“What? Kissing you?” Craig nodded, eyes glancing away from Jeff’s face every half second. “Craig, that’s not going to happen.”

“You don’t know that, Jeffrey. Sometimes people have loads of chemistry and then they don’t quite...work, you know?” 

“Alright, so what should we do? Ignore the fact that you’re in love with me and that I want to try this with you and what? Go back to being friends that are constantly flirting and, maybe, occasionally, slightly pining for each other?”

“You, pine?” Craig asked. 

“I’m starting to think I’m capable,” Jeff admitted. Craig smiled at him and Jeff smiled back. They were quiet for a few moments. “You know, COVID is really making these things difficult.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah, cause without COVID, we would have kissed the other night and there wouldn’t be so much doubting it. It would have just happened.”

“Well, I think there would have been some doubting afterwards.”

“Maybe, but then we’d be kissing again before the doubting got too loud,” Jeff said. He smirked at Craig. His cheeks were pink again. 

“Fair point,” Craig said. He paused for a moment and then said, “Do you think...I could have another day? Wrapping my head around the idea that Jeffrey Winger wants to kiss me and-”

“And gets jealous over you,” Jeff added.

“And that, yes. Well, it’s a lot. I thought I had one more day to...prepare.”

“Okay, one more day then. But then on Sunday, I can come over?” 

“If I don’t beat you to it,” Craig said with a wink. 

“I have to admit, I kinda like flirty, confident Craig,” Jeff said. 

Craig laughed. “And I kinda like jealous Jeffrey. Up to some healthy levels at least.” 

“Oh, I’m perfectly confident in my abilities to distract you from the nerd,” Jeff said. 

“I guess we’ll see.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Final chapter later this week!! 
> 
> (And of course, follow CDC guidelines when it comes to COVID not a random, self-indulgent Community fic. Stay safe everyone!)


	4. That today we're gonna win

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The news outlets finally project a winner for Pennsylvania.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little late but it's been a very busy work week for me. Hope you enjoy this quick wrap up! Also note, I do not know Star Wars so please tell me if my reference makes no sense.

Jeff stepped out of his bathroom and pulled on a random t-shirt. He’d finished his regular morning workout, ate, showered, and was now ready to have an exciting day of doing nothing while the news was on in the background. Jeff sat down on his couch and pulled out his phone. He skimmed through the group chat. It was mainly memes about the election. He sent off a few quick witted comments and then pulled up instagram. 

He pretended for about five minutes that he wasn’t secretly hoping to come across a post or story from Craig before giving up and going to his profile. Nothing new other than a few inspirational quotes Craig had shared the last night. Jeff wasn’t sure if he should text him. He’d asked for time and Jeff didn’t want to come off as pressuring him. 

Jeff glanced up at the TV. Yes, he’d switched from CNN to MSNBC. And yes, Steve Kornacki was quirky in a cute way and the guy’s nervous energy was oddly comforting. Finding out he was gay was also oddly comforting. Jeff would never admit it, but he actually read up on the math dork. He’d come across the article where he told his coming out story and Jeff related very heavily to the years of denial and fear that Kornacki described. He looked away from the TV and his phone and opened up his laptop. He had no idea what to do but he had to keep his mind occupied with something.

Jeff ended up on twitter, which was oddly a whole different experience than when he was on his phone. He was mindlessly scrolling when he got an invite to a zoom call from Abed. Jeff raised an eyebrow. Abed knew that Jeff wasn’t fond of spontaneous video calls, but he answered anyway because what else was he going to do?

He was greeted by more than Abed’s face. Annie and Britta were there too. And Britta was crying while Annie and Abed were all smiles.

“Wow, what’s happening?” Jeff asked, concerned. 

“Haven’t you seen the news?” Annie exclaimed. Jeff glanced up at his TV. There in big letters was “JOE BIDEN: PROJECTED WINNER” with Biden’s smiling face taking up half the screen. 

“What? It’s happened?” Jeff asked, shocked. 

Annie nodded, wiping at her eyes. Shirley suddenly joined the call. “We did it everyone!” she exclaimed. 

“I know! I mean, he’s far from ideal, but Tru- oh, sorry Abed. I mean, the cheeto’s gone!” Annie replied. 

“Britta, what’s wrong?” Shirley asked, concerned. All they could see of Britta was the top of her head as she hid her face on her arms. “I know you aren’t sad the cheeto lost,” Shirley added in her threatening voice. 

Britta shook her head no, but refused to show her face. “Are you actually crying?” Jeff asked. 

“Aw, Britta, it’s okay. We understand,” Annie said.

“Oh, I understand nothing,” Jeff joked. “Miss ‘America is a corrupt democracy run by evil billionaires’ is crying because an old white man got elected president?”

“Screw you,” Britta yelled, finally looking up. Which had been Jeff’s goal. She angrily wiped at her tears. “I am not crying.” 

“Right, so that’s not snot on your upper lip,” Jeff continued. 

“Jeff! Can we all please get along?” 

Jeff opened his mouth to reply when there was a high pitched scream. Jeff turned back to look at the wall separating his apartment from Craig’s. Looks like someone finally heard the news. 

“Was that the Dean?” Shirley asked. 

“Yeah, I imagine it was,” Jeff asked as he reached for his phone. He opened up the chat with Craig but wasn’t sure what to even say. He looked back at his TV. The network was doing interviews and showing montage of Joe Biden’s life. “Abed, is this real? Should we be celebrating right now?”

“Jeffrey!”

“Jeff! Why do you want to ruin this?”

“I don’t! I just want to make sure this is going to happen,” Jeff said. 

“It is,” Abed replied. “With Pennsylvania under his belt, Biden doesn’t even need to win any other state. He’s won the presidency. And he’s most likely going to win Nevada, Georgia, and Arizona. Even if recounts or lawsuits overturn one, or even two, of those states. He’s still president. And it’s statistically impossible for him to lose Michigan or Wisconsin now. He did it.” 

Annie and Shirley cheered and clapped. Britta ducked out of view again, probably crying. Jeff stared at the happy faces of his friends. It was happening. It was real. The four years of that horrible excuse of a human being were over. He knew very well that nothing was really fixed but...there was relief. Relief that they weren’t continuing down the wrong path. Relief that they’d stopped the bleeding. Relief that they’d taken a step in the right direction. 

“We have to celebrate!” Annie was saying. 

“I think I have some rosé around here,” Shirley commented. 

“I have special drink,” Abed added. 

“I might have some red wine...let me check.” Annie ran off screen. 

“Britta?” Shirley asked.

“I have….water,” Britta said. 

“It’s bad luck to toast with water,” Abed warned. 

“Well, it’s either that or expired milk,” Britta argued. Shirley made a face of disgust. 

“Don’t worry, Britta, I will join you with water,” Jeff commented. He set the computer down on his coffee table. Britta opened her mouth to say something but Jeff got distracted by hurried knocks on his door. “And that’s probably Craig, hold on.”

The light, quick knocks continued as Jeff got off his couch. “Give me a sec,” Jeff said. He looked on his counter for his mask. He usually left it with his keys. 

“Jeffrey!” Craig whined on the other side of the door. 

“Hold on,” Jeff called out. He opened one of his drawers and grabbed a new mask. “I’m just getting my mask on,” he grumbled. He opened the door with one hand and tried to loop the earpiece in place with the other hand. 

Craig stood in his pajamas. He was also crying, which didn’t surprise Jeff in the least. What surprised Jeff was that he wasn’t wearing a mask nor standing six feet away from his door. Craig spread his arms out wide. “We did it!” he cheered. 

“Uh, yeah, we did,” Jeff agreed. He let his mask slip through his fingers, dangling from one ear. “Did you forget your-”

Jeff didn’t have a chance to ask. Craig took two steps towards Jeff and leaned up to kiss him. Jeff met him halfway in a joyful, sweet kiss. Craig’s arms ran up Jeff’s side and wrapped around his back. Jeff’s hands came up to cup Craig’s cheeks, leaning down to kiss him more. Craig’s worries about them not being compatible seemed ridiculous now. Craig’s lips were soft and inviting. His hands burned Jeff wherever they touched him. Jeff licked Craig’s bottom lip and, unsurprisingly, Craig opened up to let Jeff slip his tongue into his mouth. Jeff felt Craig’s body brush against his as Craig stretched to get closer to him. Jeff wrapped his arm around Craig’s waist, holding him firmly against him. Craig out a little noise that had Jeff deepening the kiss. 

“Oh my god! What is happening?”

“Jeff and the Dean are kissing.”

“But, but,”

“Holy cow, is that-”

“The Dean? Yes, we’ve already established that point. Jeff has been pining after the Dean for a while now. It seems they’ve finally told each other.”

“Oh, that’s nice!” 

Jeff tried to ignore the conversation happening behind him, but it was very hard to once it broke through their little bubble. Jeff reluctantly leaned away from Craig. Craig’s eyes remained closed and his mouth hung open. His lips were pink and wet with saliva and looked so enticing. Jeff already wanted to feel them against his again. He was leaning back down towards Craig when he heard the oh’s and aw’s behind him. Jeff stopped and straightened up. 

“I should probably let you know we have company,” Jeff said. Craig seemed to startle out of his daze. He blinked up at Jeff for a while and then looked past his shoulder. 

“Oh,” Craig said. “I didn’t-I wasn’t thinking.” Craig tried to take a step away from Jeff but Jeff refused to let up on his tight grip. 

He shrugged. “They were bound to find out eventually,” Jeff said. “Come on, we were just about to toast.” Jeff made a sweeping gesture for Craig to enter his apartment. Craig gave one of his classic, teary smiles and happily walked over to the couch. 

“Hi everyone!” 

“Hi Dean!” 

Jeff had a goofy smile on his face as he closed the door and took off his mask. He grabbed a glass of water for himself and some orange juice for Craig. 

“I don’t know if you want to run back for wine but…” Jeff said as he handed Craig his glass.

“Oh, no, this is fine,” Craig said happily. Jeff had a feeling Craig didn’t even know what he’d handed him. His eyes never left Jeff’s face. 

“So, Winger, I guess I should welcome you to the LGBTQPIOYAN community,” Britta said smugly. 

“The what now?” Shirley questioned. 

“It’s the full acronym,” Britta explained. “We can’t be lazy and shorten it. It is a serious issue of-”

“Britta, really? Today?” Annie cautioned. 

“Fine, if you all want to propagate-”

“Yes, we will propogate. And also, I think some of those letters do not belong,” Jeff said. 

“Don’t egg her on,” Annie complained. 

“Are we doing this toast or not?” Shirley asked. “I have to go celebrate with my boys.”

“Yes,” Abed said. He lifted his glass of special drink up to the video. Everyone else followed suit. Jeff casually put his arm around Craig’s waist and ignored the stupid fluttery feeling in his stomach. “To the fall of the Death Star!” 

Jeff kept in all his quips about the Star Wars reference. He saw the others do a combination of a fond smile and a subtle eye roll. 

“To the fall of the Death Star,” they all echoed. 

Jeff took a sip of his water and watched all of his friends drink and cheer. Craig leaned into him and Jeff wrapped his arm more securely around him. For the first time all year, in four years, Jeff wasn’t a complete pessimist about the future. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is a lot of work ahead but I hope we all got to take a deep breath after last Saturday.

**Author's Note:**

> Fully committed to writing this fic now. More to come soon!


End file.
